To file a TeleCheck dispute, request your free consumer file disclosure, identify the specific entry that’s wrong, and submit a dispute to TeleCheck with documentation supporting your correction. Federal law then requires TeleCheck to investigate and respond within 30 days.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy The process works whether your check was declined at a register, you spotted an error on your own, or you’re recovering from identity theft.
Get Your File Disclosure First
You cannot dispute what you cannot see. Every consumer reporting agency, TeleCheck included, must give you all the information in your file when you ask for it.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681g – Disclosures to Consumers Start at getassistance.telecheck.com in the consumer file report section.3TeleCheck. Request Your TeleCheck Consumer File Report
If you’re mailing the request, include:
- A daytime phone number
- A copy of your driver’s license
- Your Social Security number
- A copy of a voided check from the account in question
Send it to TeleCheck Services, Inc., Attention: Consumer Resolution Services, P.O. Box 6806, Hagerstown, MD 21741-6806.3TeleCheck. Request Your TeleCheck Consumer File Report
The identifiers matter. The name on your driver’s license should match the name on the checking account, and the voided check needs to correspond to the account you’re asking about. If more than one of your accounts might have TeleCheck records, include a voided check from each.
One note on cost. You’re entitled to a free file disclosure every 12 months. If a merchant recently declined your check based on a TeleCheck report, the merchant must have given you an adverse action notice with TeleCheck’s contact information, and that notice triggers a separate free copy if you ask within 60 days.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Get a Free Copy of My Credit Reports?5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures
Submit the Dispute
Once you’ve reviewed the file and pinpointed the error, TeleCheck accepts disputes through an online form or a downloadable PDF you can mail with supporting documents.6TeleCheck. TeleCheck – Information Dispute The same channel handles forged, counterfeit, lost, or stolen checks, and identity theft.
What you send with the dispute depends on what’s wrong:
- If a check is flagged as unpaid but actually cleared, send a bank statement showing the transaction cleared, with the date and dollar amount matching the disputed entry.
- If the problem originated at your bank, send a letter from the bank confirming the mistake.
- If you’re the victim of identity theft, send a police report or FTC identity theft report along with TeleCheck’s identity theft declaration form.7TeleCheck. TeleCheck Identity Theft Declaration
Match every document to the exact entry you’re challenging. Investigators need precise transaction dates and dollar amounts to find the record in their system. Vague descriptions slow things down.
The 30-Day Timeline
After TeleCheck receives your dispute, the FCRA gives them 30 days to reinvestigate and notify you of the results. If you send additional information during that window, they get up to 15 extra days.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy The response will tell you whether the entry was deleted, corrected, or left in place.
If TeleCheck Rules Against You
An unfavorable result isn’t the end of the process. You have two options built into federal law.
The first is a consumer statement. The FCRA lets you file a statement of up to 100 words explaining the nature of the dispute, and TeleCheck must include that statement (or a summary) whenever it reports the disputed information.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy The underlying data stays, but anyone reviewing your file sees your side.
The second is a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB routes complaints about consumer reporting agencies directly to the company for a response, usually within 15 days and up to 60 for a final answer. File online or call (855) 411-2372.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint Put everything in your first submission; you generally can’t file a second complaint about the same issue.
The Easiest Dispute to Win: Old Entries
TeleCheck cannot report negative information forever. Under the FCRA, adverse items such as accounts placed for collection or charged off as losses can’t appear on a consumer report if they’re more than seven years old.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports For a delinquent account that went to collection, the seven-year clock starts 180 days after the delinquency that led to the collection activity.
If your file shows a negative entry past the seven-year mark, the dispute is simple. Cite the entry date and the FCRA’s reporting limit, and TeleCheck has to remove it. Either the math works in your favor or it doesn’t.